Galveston...bath water ocean fun

Okay so I know I didn't have many nice things to say about Galveston last night, it just hadn't impressed me much and was a little creepy, but we wanted some beach action, so we geared up for the sea and sand and left papa to "work" at the hotel. We drove to a beach where you can drive on the sand, but opted out since we were in a mini van. Mini van + sand = tow truck. There was nobody on the beach. It was kind of stormy, but super warm. We headed straight for the ocean and I was expecting warm ocean water, but this was like nothing I had ever been in. It was so warm, like 80 degrees. We had so much fun swimming and playing around, building sand castles and making soup. Kaiya got us all in on her project to keep water in a hole she had dug and we were all running around listening to Sargent Kaiya bark orders at us. It was pretty fun. Everyone felt so peaceful. The ocean does that. I miss living across from the beach so much. The Oregon Coast is beautiful, kind of far and just not the same as California. It just isn't as accessible. Anyway we were at the beach for a few hours and then headed back to the hotel to pack up and head to Austin. We didn't have a far ride and that made everyone happy. About an hour out of Austin and right after the girls had fallen asleep the boys decided they were hungry and needed to use the bathroom. So we woke up the crankies and went to Whataburger, some Texas burger place. Everyone thought it was very good, so I guess it was worth waking the beasts!
We arrived in Austin at rush hour so our short drive was a little longer. We were staying at the Embassy Suites and the girls were so excited about this hotel. They always do a nice job with their interior, looking like a spanish villa. This hotel had coy ponds throughout and the girls decided that it looked like a barbie dreamhouse, so they played Barbie Dreamhouse the entire time we were there.
Our first mission was to go see the bats fly out from Congress Bridge. So Jeremy, the girls and I headed out. We drove by the capital building, which was a beautiful capital and drove down Congress. to the bridge. People were already lining up all across the bridge. I had read that there is a park under the bridge where you should sit and watch, so we marched across the bridge and then under it. You could hear the bats (and smell them...ick) starting to stir. There were a few lone bats that flew out and then they all came. There are supposedly 750,000 bats that fly out every night from the Congress bridge. It is fascinating to watch the babies fly in a circular u turn pattern because they are confused and still learning the routine. They all fly in groups and there are just huge clusters of bats flying through the sky line of Austin. It is actually really cool. I think Bats are pretty cool and kind of cute, but if you are scared of them, then maybe don't go! It was time for some ICE CREAM after seeing all those bats and no, we had not had dinner! We found a little local spot and waited in line for ice cream...I never wait in line for ice cream!!! It was fun though, they had a photo booth, so we piled in for some photo fun. The girls got some crazy ice cream mixtures and we headed back to the hotel to round up papa for a post ice cream, late night dinner. Woot!

Goodbye NOLA, hello Texas!

Our final morning in New Orleans. I woke up early and took my dad and the girls back to the courtyard where we saw the music for beignets and coffee (it was much closer than Cafe Du Monde and is featured on Food Network, so why not) While at breakfast I was finally able to connect with Renisha, so we could see the girls cousins from their dad's side. I am so glad I was able to connect. I was feeling sad that we would leave NOLA without visiting with them. She was so awesome and got the kiddos up and dressed the second she learned we were here. The girls were thrilled to see and meet more cousins! We cleaned ourselves up and headed over to the French Market area to find them. Renisha has four kids (5g, 7g, 8b and 9g) It was an instant bond for the kiddos and they all were holding hands and playing together. So fun! It was hot, but we walked around and ended up back at Cafe Du Monde so we could at least have that experience. Renisha is such a sweetheart and a fun tour guide and had lots of great ideas for us. If only we would have connected sooner. We bought beignets for all the kids and they ended up covered in powdered sugar, which is totally why Mila likes them, she didn't even take a bite, just licked the sugar off and was done (gross!). It was way too short of a visit, but we were able to get pictures of them all together and we hope to see them all again sometime when we are in the bay area. The girls have a lot of family in Louisiana and there is a family reunion there almost every year. I hope we can get them down there for one of those sometime soon. Family is so important and these girls are so blessed to have good family all around them. We piled into Renisha's van and she drove us back to our hotel. Another tough goodbye and we were off to pack and get out of town.

We said goodbye to the Royal Sonesta and New Orleans, which was a hard place for me to leave. We had a great time there. We were off to Galveston Texas and some beach fun. Yahoo! The drive was long, well not really for our current perspective, so about 5 hours and with great scenery.  Louisiana is such an interesting state. Driving into Texas it was clear we were in Texas. The scenery changed a lot and became much more industrial. Even the coast, didn't look like any coastline I am used to with all of the oil drilling and the huge towers. It is pretty sad. It becomes physically evident that environment is not very protected in texas and Texas has a lot of great landscapes that need protection. The signage and bumper stickers were fascinating and a little scary. We finally arrived in Galveston and checked into our hotel. This is the first hotel that I booked that was not accurately described (bummer) we were all in a tiny little room. Oh well we could handle it. It is just a funny situation because my dad has to get up a bit in the night and so he needs the bathroom light on so he can see. Jeremy needs complete darkness to sleep, so a little uncomfortable, but manageable. There was a big storm brewing so I got the girls in the pool to get a little splash time in before the lightening came. They are really loving the daily pool time. I hope we can continue some regular pool time when we get home. Kaiya has become such a great swimmer on this trip and Mila is finally willing to take some risks and try things in the pool. People might think Mila would be the wild one in the pool, but only on her terms. She doesn't like to be wild in places that she can't entirely control (like water). Jeremy and I headed out to see if we could find my dad some scotch (these things are important). We found Galveston to be a really strange town. I was struggling to understand why it was such a tourist draw because there was nothing there. We couldn't even find a grocery store. We finally did and it was such a different experience than grocery stores I am used to. The produce section was a tiny corner and the rest of the store was meat and then highly processed food. Oh Texas, let's change this, okay? We gathered together some snacks and headed back to the room. No scotch for pops, but he would survive. Goodnight Galveston.

Fear, Fun and Old style charm...

I woke up early to run and lift weights with Jeremy. Kaiya decided that she wanted to check out the fitness room so she came with us. She really wanted to lift weights and it was difficult to get her to understand that weight lifting on little bodies is no good! I am still dealing with the life long impacts of weight lifting from the age of 6 encouraged by my swim coach. Not good! So she was my cheerleader instead while Jeremy was my personal trainer. Ha ha! It was his day to do arms, so he had me do the same routine. I was so sore the next day it was ridiculous! We went and gathered up Mila and papa and wanted to head to breakfast. I wanted everyone to experience Cafe Du Monde, so we looked on the map and papa thought it was close enough for him to walk with his walker. We headed out. Unfortunately, we misjudged the walk. Since the sidewalks in New Orleans are kind of like slate cobblestone or something the walk was way too bumpy and way too much for my dad. When we finally reached Cafe Du Monde there was a line down the block and papa was exhausted so we opted for a place across the street. It was decent, they didn't have beignets, which was our reason for going, but they had good food. We decided that a walk back was out of the question, so we were hoping to find a pedi-cab (bike cab) for papa and the girls and then Jeremy and I would walk the walker back. No pedi-cabs to be found. We waved a cab down, which made me nervous because I had bad experiences with cabs in NOLA before. This guy was great. He was questioning my dad on the secrets to getting so old. My dad told him what he tells his doctors "eat too much, drink too much and don't exercise" This cab driver loved that and wanted to know what to drink and what to eat. My dad told him to drink scotch, so he said was going to start drinking scotch that day. Ha! My dad loved the cab ride, so that was a success.
The girls, Jeremy and I had reservations on a bayou tour about an hour and a half outside of New Orleans with Munson's Swamp tours. We did some research and this place had some great reviews. The Bayou was one of Jeremy's must dos for this trip. He was hoping to wrestle an alligator, but I guess that is illegal (I still can't tell if he is really joking about this). We piled in the car and drove and drove and drove into swamp land. Jeremy wanted to stop and check out every swampy marsh we drove past, but we were running late, so we were able to discourage that. I think he may watch a little too much gator boys or something. We made it to Munson's just in time. There were about 20 people there, so we all loaded up on this pontoon boat and set out into the swamp. This tour is on private land. Nobody is allowed to do any fishing or hunting of any kind. This allows for so much wildlife to live in these swamps. There were gators and turtles, raccoons, all kinds of beautiful birds and a huge colony of over 100 vulchers. It was really amazing. I have to be honest, I did feel quite nervous rolling into and area so densely populated with gators with my two little girls. I knew we were safe, but I had to have my arms or Jeremy's arms around them at all times. Our tour guide didn't help with his putting it on thick style. We came across some baby alligators that were about a week old and he was very nervous about them yipping for their mama, so we had said we had to get out of there. We continued down the swamp and found the vulcher island. He fed the vulchers raw chicken, which was super strange to watch them and listen to them go crazy about. He then fed the first gator, which was a small gator who could hardly figure out how to eat the pork chop that was given to him. He carried it around for about 10 minutes. The guide moved to another area and found what appeared to me to be a large gator other treats. Then he saw a huge gator at least 13 feet down a ways. That gator took off swimming fast towards out boat, which I thought was not right at all. She came right up to the boat and fed on the snacks he was providing. She circled around and would continue to come up to the boat directly under where Kaiya and Mila were (the two smallest people on the boat) it did not feel very safe. Jeremy was gripping those girls so tight. He didn't feel it was safe either. It was an exciting experience to see the gators up close and interacting, but the more and more I thought and read about it, the more uncomfortable I feel. These gators will now become nuisance gators because people want a good show and this guy is going to give it to them. These gators now swim towards people, which is not normal. If you watch most alligators, they swim away from people. These alligators now associate people with being fed. Deadly combo. Our swamp tour wrapped up after an hour and a half and we were back on land. Overall we loved the experience, but wish our guide and others would be more responsible. It was exciting to see the gators eating up close, but I would rather just see them as they are and not create an unsafe situation for people and alligators down the line. Jeremy was on an alligator rush and wanted to go find more, but we decided to head back to the hotel to take a rest before dinner.
We had reservations to go to Arnaud's, which is my dads favorite restaurant in New Orleans. This is the first place that he had oysters rockefeller and that is now one of his favorite things to make. My dad was in shorts and asked if he should change and I thought he didn't need to, so we headed over. Conveniently, Arnaud's was directly across from our hotel, so we didn't have to fight the chaos. When we went in they informed us that shorts were not allowed in the main dining room, but that we could sit in the Jazz Bistro instead. Telling my dad that shorts were find worked out to be the best mistake we made. The Jazz Bistro had a great little jazz group playing and my dad was so happy. They go above and beyond with the old style service at Arnaud's with three different servers per table. You want for nothing. The food was great, everyone was happy. The girls were obsessed with the two tap dancing street performers outside one of the windows, but also enjoyed the music inside. The band came to our table and played for my dad and took his requests, which is always so fun. My dad couldn't think of a good song request, which is funny because my dad knows so many songs throughout history. He picked "sweet sue" which the band was surprised and happy about, but of course my dad was mad at himself all night for choosing that song (HA!) Dinner was fabulous, we all had dessert which was decadent and delicious. Kaiya had told me she wanted to have coffee with dessert because she is in an "I am growing up and think things like coffee are fancy" phase. I thought, well okay, so we ordered he a decaf coffee and she thought it was so happy! She took a tiny sip and thought it was so disgusting (surprise?) Dinner was about a 2 and 1/2 hour affair so the girls were pooped. Jeremy took them up to the hotel to sit on the balcony and my dad and I set out (well around the corner) to hear some more jazz. There was a great courtyard around the corner from Arnaud's and still just across from our hotel and they had a great little jazz group playing, Steamboat Willy. My dad and I sat and listened and well my dad sang everysong with them and got a few requests in. He loved it. I love getting to spend time with just my pop. He is so fun and he really enjoys getting out and doing things, especially when it is accessible for him (no long walks on cobble stones through a bunch of drunk people). We stayed for an hour or so and then headed to the room.

Jeremy and I decided we would go out and explore New Orleans a bit without worrying about the littles or the pops. We wandered around, stopping in and listening to all the different music and watched all the fascinating people, it was so fun. We thought it would be fun to have a pedi cab New Orleans experience, so we convinced a guy to take us on a half an hour tour for 20 bucks. We rode around the French Quarter on the back of a bike and listened to this guy tell us about history. He was a sweet kid, trying to pedal his way through law school in New Orleans. It was so hot and he was completely drenched with sweat by the end of our ride. We parted ways and wandered down to Preservation Hall, since we never made it there with pops. Jeremy and I listened to a few songs from the lobby which was basically like a front row seat. It was different than I remembered it, but it has been about 15 years since I was there. It is such a great experience, so I am glad Jeremy got to at least see it. We bought my dad a shirt and headed back to the hotel. We went to pick up the little ladies and our key no longer worked, we knocked and I tried looking under the door and I decided that they were all asleep. In the morning my dad informed me that he waited up until 2am for us (it was so much earlier than that when we returned). I felt horrible, grrr. Another fun filled exhausting day of our trip! GN.

Zimmerman Verdict

I forgot to mention that our first night in New Orleans I went down to get change so we could tip the person who brought us champagne and as I went into the cafe in our hotel there was a bit of a commotion going on. I asked the woman at the counter for change and she was breaking my 20 all the while staring at a man in the cafe who was laughing and cheering. She then apologized to me and said that she was trying to understand why that man would be cheering for the verdict. I was not aware at that time that the jurors had come back with a verdict for George Zimmerman. I asked her what they decided and she sadly said "not guilty". I was saddened, but not surprised. I do not know all of the evidence, but I know that child should still be alive and I know that had George Zimmerman listened to the directives of law enforcement, he would be. It was very sad to watch this play out this evening with a man, cheering carelessly for a verdict that really didn't impact him and hurting people around him. There is no good outcome for anyone when a child has been killed. How can anyone see a good outcome in that. I think cheering and laughing was an inappropriate response and I think so many of us unintentionally harm people by being careless with our actions and reactions. It was a very somber moment for me. There have been many moments on this trip, as I have mentioned in which the racial disparity and inequity in this country have been so blatantly represented across different states and cities and in different ways. We have had many conversations about the issue of race and poverty here in the United States, I have read internet postings of people denying that racism still exists even some that say that "white people" are the only ones who are discriminated against. I feel sad that people think this way. I feel sad that I have to be cautious about where I take my children in this so called free country of ours where we encountered all different types of people who looked at them and looked at me and made less than pleasant faces or behaved differently towards us. We drove through towns that still have segregated seating. It is an issue that people of all walks of life, parts of this world, color of skin, socioeconomic placement will need to participate in to find a solution. We all hold a place in this struggle. We are all deserving of greatness and should all be treated with dignity and respect. One should not have to worry that their child will not live through a walk to the store to get some candy because he wears a certain jacket and has dark skin. That is wrong. That should not be cheered for nor laughed about, by anyone, ever.  I hope to see progress in my lifetime, I hope to be part of the solution, I hope and pray for a better, safer world for my children and for all children.

Virginia Family to New Orleans Crazy

We were sad to leave our little apartment in DC, it felt spacious and homey, which isn't something we have had much of. We got out later than wanted or needed this morning, oh boo. We had a big drive ahead and a very important visit with my Uncle Marshall and Aunt Rosemary. We packed up and drove over to pick up pops and say our final goodbyes. My dad was able to get a hold of Sylvia Hill late the night before, so he and Steve were up late with her. I am so glad my dad got to see his friends. He was so happy when we left DC, it was  a great time for him. We hit the road and headed towards Amherst, Virginia. My uncle has had quite a bit of trouble with his legs and had a hard time walking and my aunt just had a second stroke a few months ago. We didn't want to add any stress to them, but really wanted to see them. It was only about 3 hours to Amherst. All along the drive seeing civil war sites. Jeremy is really loving all the history. There are many things that he would want to stop and see along the way, but my dad is more interested in seeing people and eating food...so we all have to find our way in this trip without stepping on each others toes. That is something we have had to finesse. It has gone pretty well overall with everyone getting a bit of what they want. There were a few sites we wanted to stop and see, but it all just felt like too much with the distance we had to drive to reach Chattanooga that night. So we settled for driving by a few battle sites and passing up Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's house). We really wanted to go there, but it would have taken too much time to do it justice. I had been there once before with my Uncle Marshall and it was a fascinating place. We made it to Marshall and Rosemary's and it was so great to sit and chat with them for about an hour or so. I worry about them being all alone and I know that Marshall's kids are working hard to get them closer. Having great kids is a good thing! I hope they are able to get them moved soon. My dad is in a similar boat of being all on his own. It is a lot to manage when you are over 80. That is the time when all your hard work should pay off and others care for you, so you can do the things you want to do, not the things you have to. I hope to convince my dad of this when the time is right. I would have loved to see more of my mom's big brother, but I could tell they were tired and the girls were a little restless so it was back on the road. We drove through all of Virginia a corner of North Carolina and all the way through Tennessee to Chatanooga. It was late and we were tired and just crashed out. The hotel was good, a suite with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. We are all getting a little cabin fever when we have to share a smaller room and share a bathroom, so the chances we get to have more space are welcomed! We had another long day of driving tomorrow, but they happy part is we are moving into Central time and this time we get an hour back, which totally rocks for us.

We woke up early and fought our way through breakfast, it was a rough one with lots of people and a line for the waffles for my dad, AGAIN! I had to stand my ground (not a great term to use right now) and make my way to the front. They were out of coffee continually and unfortunately this road trip has rekindled my relationship with coffee...grr. We made it out and onto the road. Chatanooga is a cute little town, but we didn't do it justice and didn't have time to. We drove through Georgia, and into Alabama. We went through Birmingham, but didn't see much. We decided to have lunch in Tuscaloosa, since my dad loves that town and spent some time at the University of Alabama. Tuscaloosa is super cute. We had lunch at Witzell's oyster bar, which is a cute little Southern chain. We had fried green beans and pickles, which was a fun experience. Everyone had a great lunch and a good leg stretch. Jeremy and I found a cute little coffee shop after lunch to feed my addiction :( but the kid working there was super nice and wanted to talk to us about Oregon and how he thought he should move there. We drove through the University, which was lovely and allowed my pop to tell some stories about his experience there. Such a great campus with massive brick buildings. I wish all campuses had that classy vibe. Back on the road. We were New Orleans bound and super excited. We didn't want to get in too late, so we wanted to keep pushing through. We still had to get through Mississippi. Ahh!!! It was so exciting to finally be in Louisiana. The girls great-grandma is from Louisiana and they have cousins that live in New Orleans, we were hoping to see them while there. We also had a lot of plans for food, alligators and fun! We drove into Swamp lands. I think Jeremy was hoping an alligator would just pop out and say hello, but I don't think that is how it works. Once in the New Orleans area it was crazy to see the remaining evidence of Hurricane Katrina. There are so many people still trying to rebuild their homes after that tragic storm. Life is so hard for so many and much of it is not their fault, contrary to what many believe. I hope if anything improves in our country soon it is having compassion for others. That would be wonderful. New Orleans is another exciting place to be with a lot of energy. By the time we got into town, Bourbon street was already closed to cars, which made it a tad tricky to get to our hotel, which was the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon street. My dad really wanted to stay at this hotel and we were able to get him a room with a balcony. We had two rooms here, because no room was big enough for all of us. It was good to have the space. The Royal Sonesta is very fancy with New Orleans charm, fancy chandeliers and wrought iron accessories, It is a magical place. The girls wanted to get in the pool immediately, so we did. They felt it was the worst pool yet, with too much chlorine and too many grown ups, so they didn't last long and didn't ask to go in again (whoa!) We got dressed and headed out on the town in hopes of getting to the Preservation Hall to see some jazz. My dad wanted to see jazz! We all were hungry and wanted to find a quick bite, but not a lot is quick in New Orleans. The street was busy and difficult for my dad to navigate with his walker. WE ducked off to the two sisters court for some appetizers. The courtyard instantly reminded my dad that he had been to this restaurant with my mom. Another indication for me that she is traveling with us in so many ways. I love these random mom reminders on the road, so nice to have the time to think of her and savor those moments. I feel like the hecticness of life allows for too much time to pass that I don't think of her, then when I do I feel upset that it has been too long. Sometimes the farther she gets away the harder it is. I don't know if that makes sense, but I want to remember what her voice sounds like and what she smelled like and those things become harder to reach and that hurts. Well she visited with us in New Orleans in her classy way and that was lovely. We had a good snack, but it took too long and we weren't sure we could make it to Preservation Hall. The second my dad got back out on Bourbon street he decided he didn't want to be out there. There were many more people and they were all much more drunk than before we went to eat. It was too much for everyone, the girls were somewhat horrified at the "innappropriateness" as Kaiya called it. So we headed back to the room to watch from our balcony. We had a free bottle of champagne with our room so we ordered that and we sat on the balcony and the three adults had champage and we watched on. There was an awesome impromtu wedding march down our street with a jazz band and the entire wedding party. The girls loved that. Such fun energy in this city. It has always had the seedy stuff, but it used to be classy seedy, unfortunately, like everywhere our more recent generations like trashy seedy and that stuff is just gross. I would like New Orleans a lot more without all of that. It is very Vegas-sy in some ways now. All things change and not always for the better, I suppose. The big girl decided to sleep in papa's room and the little one came with Jeremy and I. It was late past midnight) and we were all so beat. Goodnight!

Dinosaurs, American History and splish splash

We planned to get up early and spend the entire day in the city of DC, but plans change, right? So much busy busy calls for a lazy morning. Our friend Sarah (Steve's wife) said to me the other day that they did so much do this do that travelling that some of their kids now hate to travel. That really sunk in for me. I thought, "the girls want to just splash in the pool today, yes we are in DC, but clearly I need to get over it." They had a blast in the pool and after they were done then we decided we should see some of the Smithsonians. I guess it was a sort of compromise. Good deal. Jeremy and I went back and forth trying to decide how to get into DC because, well compared to NYC, the driving wasn't too bad, but the parking was a beast. We decided that Metro was best and really just part of the experience. DC has an amazing transportation system. We drove and parked at the station and had to figure out the rates, which is the only confusing part about riding the train in DC, each stop has a different rate and at different times of day it is a different price and then there are hidden card fees that you are supposed to add, essentially at each stop, we couldn't get out of the gate because somehow we hadn't paid enough and had to get assistance. Fun times. We finally made it into DC and got off at the National Mall. Jeremy instantly got roped in to some guy trying to "help tourists" and ended up paying him a few bucks for the "help". It was all good though, he was funny. He told us that the girls wanted a little brother for Christmas. Ok?! Kaiya was like, "why does he think I want that for Christmas?" she is so funny sometimes! We got over that and headed for the Museum of Natural History to see some dinosaurs. That was really fun, dinosaurs are so impressive for little people. It is incredible to see that they found dinosaur bones all along our route on this trip. Dinosaurs walked where we walked, so cool! They do a nice job of every exhibit at the Smithsonian. Kaiya liked the giant Sloths and the dinosaur bones. Mila thought they were all very scary, but she like the caveman exhibit. Mila mostly likes the snacks wherever we go, she is most interested in checking them out. She did however say that the "Big one, the t-rex because it is bigger!"After a little bit at the museum we realized that we were all starving to the point of woozy. Kaiya wanted to take a pedi-cab to lunch and she offered to pay for it with her travel money. Well alrighty then. We all piled into the back of a bike and made this poor guy haul us up a hill while trying to explain history of DC. He was awesome. He comes into DC from Chicago every year to drive a pedi-cab and teach DC history. We found an awesome salad place called Chop't and that was the end of our ride. He was dripping sweat and could hardly breath. That is a lot of weight to haul on a bike!! I think I should start offering people rides on my xtracycle, could be interesting! I have so many new inspiring (some good and some not so) ideas for future ventures. We will see how that all pans out. After lunch we headed to the Museum of American History. It is so hot in DC that not only do the museums provide amazing things to look at, but also a cool break from the humidity. The girls had a plan for things to see at the American History Museum. They b-lined for Dorothy's ruby slippers and were so excited when they stumbled upon them. They just stared in awe for a few minutes. They wanted to see Lincoln's hat, so we went to the African American History section, which will soon be its own museum in DC. Kaiya had a lot of questions about slavery and how could that even happen. They had shackles on display that were used to transport child slaves. Kaiya was mortified. She really does have a strong sense of what is right and of justice, I hope she keeps that through her life. She is such a great person! Mila didn't really understand all of it, but always asks questions about why people "with brown skin, like Kaiya" are being treated this way or why do movies show them that way. She is definitely already aware that there is inequity in the world and it is confusing. They exhibit was great and walked you through to the end of slavery, which is where Lincoln's hat was. Again, I love Lincoln, just saying. The other side of the exhibit walked you through Civil Rights, which is again so inspiring and with such amazing leadership. Not much of that these days. I have found so many examples on this trip of how we have slid backwards since civil rights. There is so much anger and segregation in this country. There are so many people suffering right around the corner from us, but it is accepting and I find it so depressing. I don't care what people have done in their lives, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Judgement is so intense in this country and I have found that the most difficult and necessary part of our travels. Seeing for ourselves what is happening in this country and allowing time to think about what needs to be done. That has been a painful process for me. I know, tangent, sorry.   After the African American History we went and saw the first lady dresses, they have many of the dresses from the last 200 years. It is incredible to see them and read about the women who wore them. I am not sure I have a favorite first lady. I hadn't realized that many of the first presidents had chosen other family members to take on the role of first lady. Some had daughters, nieces, cousins that would attend events and be the hostess at the white house. Interesting. We then walked through the presidents exhibit. Kaiya chose Lincoln as her favorite president of all time and Mila chose Washington. Both good choices, I think. They loved standing at the presidents podium and reciting speeches on tv, that was very fun. Mila looked like a dictator with her hand and facial gestures...appropriate for Mila. Our last venture was to see the Star Spangled Banner. I just love all the stories about all of these people, places and things. The Smithsonian Museums are so wonderful and free! I love that anyone can go and see and learn. That is how more places should be. All should have a right and access to experience history and step outside themselves. I love DC, wish we had more time...  it was getting late, after 7pm and we needed to go meet up with my dad and the Selby family, so we headed back to the metro. The ride home was a bit more confusing and crowded with all the folks headed home. Our family was all feeling tired and silly. We paid the wrong amount again and had to pay more to get out of the station. Oh joy! On our way to see my dad we saw lots of bunnies and fireflies which I think I mentioned before. The girls just get so excited! We made dinner at the Selby house and soaked up our last bit of time with them. Sarah was leaving at 6am to drive to Maine ( I do want to go to Maine someday) and we were leaving in the morning. The girls were anxious to get in another night swim, so it was back to the pool with us. They swam and swam and shut down the pool. Mila made a little friend, which is always her plan. She talks about how she will make a friend at every pool and what she will share of her water toys with her new friend. So cute!

Cupcakes and monuments...oh my!

I woke up early and went running. I have to get it in while I can. I had great intentions in New York, but there was just too many other things to get into. So I must keep this thing going. It does feel good to get up and run without an internal battle, I have been waiting for this feeling. I came back and gathered up the girls to head over to see what papa and the gang were up to. They showed us a secret woodsy path through a to their house from the hotel and the girls loved that, so we walked to their house as much as we could. They were figuring out their day, so we sat with them for a bit and then decided to do our own thing. We went back to the hotel and went swimming in the pool. The young lifeguards had a lot of rules for us. I was starving and trying to eat a snack and coffee, but was told no drinking or eating anything. The girls  got in and 2 minutes later the lifeguard blew the whistle and said it was time for them to take a break?? What?? I guess they have a rule the last 15 minutes of every hour is break time in Virginia. I was super irritated so we decided to venture out into the world.  We headed to Georgetown to find Georgetown cupcakes for Kaiya. She really likes cooking reality shows and has enjoyed watching DC cupcakes which is about Georgetown cupcakes. We made it to Georgetown and searced for parking and finally found a spot down by the Potomac river. Wow does that river smell bad. So sad what we have done to some of the most naturally beautiful parts of this country. That has been a constant theme for me on this trip. I find myself often thinking about what it once looked like and how clean the water in the rivers, lakes and oceans once were. Boo. Anyhow, we apparently made it at a low cupcake time of day (does such a thing occur) since the line was not very long and we were warned about the line. It was very exciting for Kaiya. The hard part was deciding which cupcake to order. She went for red  velvet. We all got cupcakes and sat down and watched them make cupcakes while we endulged. Yum! We ate lunch after cupcakes because we can! Mila was very tired and we decided a nap was in order. We headed back to our hotel room. We checked in with my dad and Steve and decided that we would head to their house after naptime and have dinner and then go on a monument night tour. Naptime went a little long and we rushed over just in time for a Chinese food order to be placed. We ate food and headed out into the night all loaded up in our van for a tour of DC after dark. Steve was an excellent tour guide giving us the grand tour of the layout of DC and a lot of history. We stopped and the girls, Jeremy and I ran a block down to see the white house. Kaiya was probably the most excited to see it, but also secretly hoping that she would see the Obama girls frolicking on the lawn?? Who knows. It was still great fun for the girls. There is something magical about the white house. We continued on our journey and went to the Lincoln Memorial, which is lit up at night. I love the Lincoln memorial, mostly because I love Lincoln. I think I have an old dead man crush on Lincoln...I know, that isn't right, but he was an amazing person and brilliant. I wish we had leaders like him now. We certainly need them. The view from the memorial is wonderful as well. Looking out across the pool of water to the Washington Monument is always so inspiring. To stand where Martin Luther King Jr stood to give his most famous speech makes you feel strong. It was great to share these things with my girls. Just a reminder to them of all they can accomplish in their lives if they choose to. As we were walking back to the car we saw one of the white house helicopters speed by above us in a sporadic pattern. We decided it was the president and that was exciting! It was starting to rain on us so we ran back to the car. My dad wanted to go tour around Howard University, which is his first real teaching gig back in the 60's. It was so fun to go with him and hear stories about that experience. It has grown so much since he was there, that was a long time ago. My dad has done so much in his life and I am continuously more and more impressed to know of all he has impacted and all the people's lives he has changed. Howard represented another of those experiences. After the Howard tour we had two sleeping beauties in the back because it was after 10pm. Bedtime has surely been thrown out the window on this trip. It will be a tricky transition when we return home! Bedtime is now!